Essence Of God (God's Nature Or Character) Series

GOD’S ESSENCES

Romans 1, verses 19-20, tell us some interesting things concerning God’s attributes:

Rom. 1:19-20

19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.

20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. NAS

We are told in the verses I just read, that:

- the knowledge of God isn’t just something that we can discover if we look real hard, but rather it is "evident" within each of us and in nature, it is "clearly seen";

- God’s "attributes", His "power" and "nature", can be "understood" from the things we see around us, from "what has been made" by God;

- "God made it evident" ("clearly seen"). He WANTS us to know Him;

- If we don’t know God, it is our own fault, and God says that we are "without excuse".

Today, I want to look at what the Bible tells us about the essence of God, about His divine nature or attributes. I’m also going to show how you can use your knowledge of God’s essence as a problem-solving device.

The Bible tells us that God is ONE in essence and THREE in personality (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). There is only one God, but that God has three distinct persons.

Deu 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one [echad (ekh-awd’), Hebrew word meaning united, one].(NIV)

2 Cor 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (NIV)

Gen 1:1 In the beginning GOD [elohiym (el-oh-heem’), a plural Hebrew word] created the heavens and the earth. (NIV)

Gen 1:26 Then God said, "Let US make man in OUR image, in OUR likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (NIV)

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all one God, and all share those divine attributes equally. However, they reveal themselves to mankind and interact with us in different ways.

For instance, consider God’s DIVINE PLAN for mankind.

- God the Father is the AUTHOR of the divine plan;

- The Lord Jesus Christ came to earth to IMPLEMENT that plan by dying on the cross for our sins;

- The Holy Spirit REVEALS the "good news" of that plan to the whole world.

The Father didn’t die on the cross, nor the Holy Spirit. We don’t place our faith in God the Father or the Holy Spirit for salvation, but in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Another example of how they interact differently with us is PRAYER.

- We ADDRESS ALL PRAYER to God the Father, not to Jesus or to the Holy Spirit (Matt. 6:9). In fact, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit pray to the Father on our behalf (Heb. 7:25, Rom. 8:26-27).

- We pray IN JESUS’ NAME, that is, according to the will or plan of the Father (John 14:13-14, 15:16).

- We pray while FILLED WITH (controlled by) THE HOLY SPIRIT, or else our prayers are not heard by God (Eph. 6:18; Jude 1:20, Psa. 66:18; 1 John 1:9).